Backstage Shadows
by Ruby Silverstone
Summary: We all know the tale of the priestess of the Shikon no Tama and her half-breed lover, but do we know the whole truth? History has a habit of distortion, and five hundred years is a long time to be playing a game of telephone...A story of the hidden hands pulling all the strings, unwittingly or not. T for violence and swearing
1. Prologue

Backstage Shadows

Prologue

The dull thump of the training mat resounded around the room, mingling with similar sounds echoing off the walls. It smelled of sweat and exertion, the air humid with heavy breaths and beating hearts. Clangs of metal ricocheted off cement bricks, chains curling in on themselves as tension was suddenly released. The synthetic plastic of the mats stuck to skin, creaking as feet pounded across their surfaces and bodies landed heavily.

The gym was full today. Hazel eyes watched in awe as bodies arched through the air, twisting like airborne dancers before landing just to take off once again. Corded muscles rippled, contorting across the expanse of skin as they propelled energy like liquid fire throughout the body. She watched amazed as a young man performed three backhand springs followed with a back-flip and landed across a single steel bar, his feet shifting as he found balance. She watched another run fearlessly towards a wall jumping unimaginably high and latch onto the graffiti covered edge, hauling himself over only to skip across the top of the adjacent monkey bars. In a corner, two were sprinting on treadmills, their legs becoming a blur as their faces turned red and their cheeks and chests heaved. She saw a few stretching, but they didn't linger long before they, too, began the dance. Always moving, always flowing; it was a sort of focus she hadn't seen before. And through it all, she saw the only person there that shared her gender. Her eyes zeroed in on the sole female in the interactive gymnasium, watching her lithe body twist through the air in a serpentine fashion. She couldn't jump as high as the men, nor run as fast, heck she couldn't even pull herself over the walls as quickly, but she was there.

Mizuki tightened her grip on the strap of her handbag and gulped. And now, so was she. She felt silly now, dressing as she had. Strappy Roman styled sandals covered her feet, black leggings that cut off just below the knee covered her legs, and a stylish modified t-shirt with cut out sides adorned her torso. Her hip-length black hair was curled, hiding her netted hoop earrings like a parting curtain. When she put her makeup on this morning, she didn't think it was too heavy but now thought it weighed a hundred pounds. Rouged cheeks, cat-eye liner, fake lashes, eye-shadow, and glossy red lips—it was her routine. She cursed her lack of forethought now. Who went to a gym with makeup on?

"You looking for someone?" A breathless voice asked behind her. She turned around…and immediately craned her neck. The man was tall, enormous by her standards with bulky muscles and angular features. Sharp blue eyes peered down at her through tousled brown locks. A white towel was draped around his shoulders and he used it to wipe the shining sweat from his face. His smell hit her immediately, and her eyes wandered to the various places on his t-shirt where the grey color turned to black. Coming back to herself, she dropped quickly into a bow, and then froze. Cheeks turning scarlet in embarrassment, she shot back into an upright position. The man's confused and somewhat skeptical look caused the color to darken.

"Gome—sorry."

"For…what?"

"Um…how do you say? Not custom? To bow? You shake hands right?"

"Oh," he said shortly. "_Oh. _You're a foreigner, aren't you?"

"Hai."

"Yeah, yeah. We shake hands." He extended his right and she mirrored his actions. She awkwardly shook his much larger hand, marveling at how firm his grip was and how easily her hand was overshadowed. "So, where're you from?"

"Japan."

"Ah. That explains it."

"Explains wh—?"

"Mizuki!"

Mizuki whipped around at the sound of her name to see the woman from before walking towards her. She tilted her head at her arrival as well, belatedly realizing that she would just have to get used to being short.

_Americans._

The blond haired woman looked to be around twenty with high cheekbones, full lips, and exotic shaped eyes the color of sapphires. Mizuki thought she was even more stunning than in her pictures. It was amazing to think that they were the same age. At sixteen, Mizuki still had a somewhat childish complexion.

"Mizuki!" The woman exclaimed, throwing her arms around the much shorter girl. Mizuki instantly relaxed glad to see a familiar face, though they were meeting in person for the first time. A smile quirked her lips as she remembered the tone of their letters and drawing a parallel to the woman in front of her. They weren't much different.

"Rachel."

"I'm so glad you came!"

"It would be a shame not to. I am in America after all."

"Of course that. I'd hunt you down if you wouldn't visit. But I mean I'm glad you came _here."_

She gestured to the gym around them, the occupants having stopped their workout to come see the commotion. Mizuki smiled nervously at them. "Aa. I'm here."

"So," the man before interrupted. "Rachel you mind introducing your friend."

"Oh, yeah sure. Guys," she looked around at the ring of young men gathering around them, and in some cases, up. "This is my friend Mizuki. We've been pen pals since our first year in high-school—well my first year in high school, she was still in middle school. She's from Japan and this is the first time that we've met in person."

Several hands were extended and Mizuki barely repressed the engraved knee-jerk reaction to bow. Old habits die hard, as they say. She shook each one in turn. The one that approached her first was Ryan, a brown haired boy with green eyes was Mike, a sandy blond was named Bryan, two identical twins were introduced next—Alan and Avery—and then the Pitt brothers John and George. And then of course Rachel.

"So," Ryan huffed. "You guys just here to catch up or…" he drifted off, rotating his hands in the air. "Actually," Rachel smiled, putting an arm around Mizuki and tugging her into her sweaty side. "Mizuki is here to work out."

"Oh," Ryan raised an eyebrow, appraising her attire. Mizuki cursed her choice of outfit for the thousandth time. "Do you have a change of clothes?"

"Hai. In my bag."

"Alright-y then! I will leave you," he pointed to Rachel, "With her," the finger switched to Mizuki. "And the rest of us will meet you out here when you're done." He made a swirl motion in the air and the group broke. Several grins were shot her way before they turned their backs. She watched some of them race back to the equipment, pushing each other the whole way. Rachel clapped her hands. "Okay then, let me show you to our locker room!"

Mizuki nodded her head and they both made their way towards some oak colored doors with white lettering going across the vertical edge of the door. Mizuki tilted her head to read the characters, knowing it said "Women" but wanting to make it out for herself. After going through the surprisingly heavy door, the room opened up into a spacious chamber with short carpet. The central area was the locker room, lockers arranged in an "E" shape with benches between each row. To the left the carpet abruptly ended and tile began, signaling the beginning of the shower room and adjacent bathroom. And to Mizuki's great surprise, to the right an entire wall of glass equipped with a glass door led to a sauna, steam billowing around the chamber.

"We're the lucky ones," Rachel said, nodding her head to the sauna. "Most gyms don't have them, but they're heaven after a particularly difficult workout. You most of all will appreciate them."

"Why?"

"Well," Rachel smiled. "What we do isn't exactly easy. You're going to pull quite a few muscles."

Setting her duffle bag down, Mizuki looked up to her long-time, yet new, friend. "How long did it take you? To get to where you are?" Rachel shrugged, sitting down on the bench while Mizuki unzipped her bag and pulled some gym clothing out. "Hard to say. I quit for a while, you know." Mizuki nodded her head, pulling her shirt off and throwing it on the bench. "But, honestly, I don't really know. All I cared about was achieving the next step, you know? It's easier to focus on the small victories." She gave the smaller girl a large grin. "That way you never stop."

Mizuki smiled back, grateful that at least she wasn't the only girl doing this. After she finished changing, she carefully looked over her outfit and compared it to Rachel's. Rachel wore baggy sweat pants that were tightly strapped around her hips, the crotch sagging around her thigh area. At the ankles, the fabric was tightly bound with white wrappings that extended down and disappeared into her black tennis shoes with deep grooves. She wore a tight, racer-back sports bra that was neon green with black swirls. Over that was a t-shirt that had been cut with a plunging v-neck and no sleeves so that massive gaps appeared at the sides. Her hands were wrapped as well her wrists and her long blond hair was up in a high ponytail.

Mizuki herself wore a simple black sports bra with neon pink outlining, and a pair of grey bike shorts. Her white tennis shoes had shallow grip in comparison to Rachel's and her black hair was swept up into a ponytail as well, her earrings stuffed into the recesses of her locker. Rachel looked her up and down critically, then smiled. "We'll have to go shopping for proper clothing."

"Is what I'm wearing not okay?" Mizuki frowned worriedly, looking down at her outfit. "It's fine for today," Rachel assured. "But after a few days I think you'll find this stuff more comfortable." She gestured loosely to her clothing. Standing, the tall girl stretched before planting her hands on her hips. "You ready?"

"Yeah. Rachel?"

"Hmm?"

"What…what am I supposed to do?" Rachel smiled gently, her blue eyes softening. _"Don't worry about it."_ Mizuki blinked in shock at hearing her native tongue. Rachel grinned at her reaction. _"You don't really think that I took two years of Japanese only to never use it, did you?"_

_"__No. I guess not," _Mizuki chuckled. Rachel grinned in return, making her way towards the locker room door. _"We'll start with the conditioning phase. Get your muscles loosened up and increase your flexibility as well as slowly strengthening your muscle density. You will get heavier when this happens but don't freak. Muscle weighs more than fat and I can assure that you'll be anything but. After that we'll move to mobility. During that stage we'll get you comfortable in your own skin, teach you how to move around various objects, and teach you the proper way to land from a fall or high jump."_

Rachel suddenly stopped and turned around to face Mizuki, expression serious.

_"__Two things. One, you're going to get scarred. You'll be landing on mats, cement, rocks, bricks—your skin will get scratched and burned. Get used to seeing bruises and calluses forming but nothing major unless you have an accident. Are you willing to accept that?"_

Mizuki nodded her head. She was proud of her skin, really she was. Having it soft and smooth, nearly entirely blemish free was something few could boast. But Mizuki always wanted tougher skin, something to show that she'd done something in life. Eyeing the various hairline scars that marred Rachel's hands and arms on top of her corded muscle made Mizuki green with envy. Rachel showed that a woman could be capable and beautiful, and seeing all those scars reinforced the fact that Rachel truly loved what she was doing. _"I've got this. What's a couple of battle scars?"_

_"__Battle scars," _Rachel smiled. _"Funny you say that. The boys call them battle scars, but whenever I get them they suddenly switch to calling mine 'victory kisses'. I imagine they'll do the same to you."_

_"__Really?"_

_"__Really. But back to business," _She held up her two of her fingers. _"Two, don't be intimidated. That's a tall order, I know, but you seriously cannot let things discourage you. You lose your will you lose your drive and you'll end up quitting like I did. I'm just glad Ryan knocked some sense into me. The boys will __always__ be faster, stronger, and more powerful. They will jump higher and run faster. Their muscle builds quicker than ours. It's how it's been and how it'll always be. But __don't__ let it bring you down. Just because they're stronger doesn't mean we can't do it. Focus on self-improvement. Can you do that?"_

_"__Yes," _Mizuki responded. Rachel's little talk was starting to freak her out a bit, but she was determined. This was something that she wanted to do. Rachel grinned again, showing a row of perfectly straight, white teeth.

_"__Well then, I think we'll have some fun." _She turned around and pushed open the door. The sounds of the gym immediately assaulted Mizuki's ears, surrounding her in a cacophony of equipment noise. She eyed the men nervously. She knew she'd get along with Rachel just fine. They both speak Japanese and English and have been communicating through letter for a full year and a half. But the boys were a different story. They were much, much taller than her and that frankly scared her but they were strangers as well. And in this place she knew she'd make a fool of herself before she managed to impress any of them. She looked to Rachel, eyeing the confidant strides with a spark of respect and jealously.

_"__Any last tips?" _Rachel paused, looking at the boys around the gym. They were friends to her, and she figured that Mizuki would feel pretty scared of them. Heck, Rachel was too, when she first came. And at that time she was the _only _girl. But, they were immensely supportive. The blond girl smiled, looking down on the newcomer.

_"__Don't be surprised if one of the boys decides to give you a hug attack."_

_"__Hug?"_

_"__Yeah," _Rachel laughed. _"As you can see, not a lot of girls come into this sort of thing. And because we usually need so much more help and encouragement because we are, as a fact, physically weaker, they take a liking pretty quick. I'm like a little sister to them and we regularly go to dinner with each other. We're real good friends."_

_"__But…hug attack?"_

_"__They randomly decide it's time to hug you. Or pick you up. Whichever suits them at the moment. Especially the twins, Alan and Avery. They'll tag-team you."_

"You ladies ready?"

"Yeah," Rachel called, seeing Ryan jogging up. He smiled, his face a little red from the exertion he put himself through. "Okay, then. Mizuki, I'm going to have you work with Avery and Rachel over there," he pointed to a large, mostly abandoned mat. "You'll be going through a series of stretches first before we begin building some muscle, okay?"

"Yes," she nodded her head. The corner of Ryan's mouth twitched slightly at her accent, he had a feeling that the guys were going to like her. She was four-foot-nothing and probably weighed less than a sack of potatoes. Who could resist that kind of potential?

"Sweet," piped Rachel, already jogging lightly towards the mat. Mizuki followed easily, noticing a tall stranger join Rachel and assumed it was Avery. The instant they reached the mat, they all sat down. Rachel spun on her butt to face Mizuki as Avery collapsed onto his back, his chest heaving. Rachel poked his forehead and he wearily raised a hand to swat it away. She laughed in response while shaking her head.

_"__Avery here's been working on his endurance." _She said it as if it explained everything, so Mizuki just nodded her head. Avery, however, was peering up at them strangely. He wrinkled his nose and addressed Rachel. "You speak Japanese?" She only gave a smile in response. Turning to Mizuki she gestured for her to straighten her legs. "Can you touch your toes?" Mizuki obliged, the tips of her fingers brushing to the tops of her toes on her flexed feet. Rachel frowned. "Is that as far as you can go?" Mizuki wordlessly leaned a little further, even though her muscles, mostly her back strangely enough, protested. Smiling, Rachel straightened her own legs out and placed the soles of her feet against Mizuki's. Reaching forward languidly, she stretched her hands outwards. Mizuki gaped as her wrists easily passed by both of their feet and kept going. When she had stretched to the point that the middle of her forearms were at their toes, she clasped her hands around Mizuki's wrists and carefully, slowly, began to pull her forward.

Mizuki's eyes widened as she felt her muscles stretch, and then keep stretching. The pulling was relentless and her body reacted instantly by slightly bending her knees. Mizuki instantly stopped and loosened, but it was a short respite. Suddenly two hands were firmly placed on top of her knees to keep them down and she looked up to Avery, baffled. Then the pulling resumed.

She looked incredulously at the two of them, both sporting mischievous grins. Rachel laughed at her horrified expression even as she pulled her forward a little more. Her legs _screamed. _

"Welcome to Parkour."

She was infinitely glad for the horrible torture of those lessons, because now, as she was literally running for her life, they were coming quite in handy. Sure she was swinging over branches instead of bars, and yes the rocks had mean, sharp points rather than the nice, uniform cinderblocks that she usually hauled herself over, but that wasn't such an issue.

And playing tag wasn't an issue at all, either. In fact, she played tag all the time with Rachel and the guys. It was part of the training. But it wasn't Rachel chasing her, and it wasn't one of the boys either. No, she was being chased by a creature about the size of a fairly large car with really, really sharp teeth framed by a pair of pinchers, three eyes the color of pee, and it was screaming at her to hold still as it obliterated trees that she just jumped or swung off of milliseconds before.

Needless to say, Mizuki was quite confused.


	2. Chapter I

Chapter I

Mizuki dodged yet another attempt on her life, narrowly missing the wicked teeth that sunk like a knife through warm butter into the bark of a tree where her neck had been just moments before. The creature gave an enraged hiss as it wretched its teeth free from the innocent greenery, sending a shower of splinters in a wide arch. _"Insolent pest!"_

"Why the hell can you talk?!" she shrieked in response, ducking into a tight ball and rolling away from another attack. She sprang to her feet and began to run once more, the frustrated howl of the monster sounding behind her. It was fast. To the point of being inhuman. She suddenly cackled at the thought. What part of that _thing _was remotely human?

She heard a series of sounds behind her, ones that were becoming disturbingly familiar, and on instinct leapt for a nearby branch. Grasping it firmly beneath her bleeding fingers, she swung her body upwards. The front of her knees knocked painfully against other branches as her body was hurled further into the tree, but she figured it was better than the pile of melting goop that the ground was turning into, a sick sort of steam rising from the pale green spray. It had spit acid her. _Again. _

"Hold _still!" _

"Fuck you!"

She jumped from the tree, allowing her toes to hit the ground first, then her heels and finally allowing her knees to absorb the shock as she fell gracefully into a roll—just how she was taught. Unfortunately for her, her graceful roll turned into an _un_graceful tumble down a steep incline, peppered with small stones and sticks. She clenched her teeth in front of her tongue so she wouldn't bite it off, squinted her eyes so she could barely see and hurled herself forward more than she already was aiding gravity in pulling her down—and conveniently away—from the thing chasing her.

She could hear it roar and then come crashing after her, obviously having no reservations due to thicker skin. She chose a few curse words out of her artillery that artfully declared exactly what she thought of that, and then she was off once again. She blindly hurled herself through the trees, skipping over rivers and leaping over logs as she willed her mind to focus. It was an incredibly hard task. The amount of adrenaline pumping through her veins made her head spin and eyesight sharpen. She was hardly aware of where she was stepping before she had already taken the step, and it was only through the horrible fear of tripping that she managed to keep her steps even and prevent her ankles from rolling. Her arms pumped in tandem with her legs, her body working like a well oiled machine. The only issue was that she wasn't a machine at all.

She could feel her muscles scream in protest at the torture she was putting them through. Even the adrenaline wasn't keeping the exhaustion at bay any longer, and she knew with staggering certainty that if she didn't do something and do something _quickly, _then she was going to die.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the powerful lash of a tail. Scale covered muscle whipped forward and slammed down just centimeters in front of where she had screeched to a halt. She wasn't quick enough for the next attack though and she lost her breath when the tail suddenly changed direction and collided with her stomach. She experienced an odd sense of vertigo as blood rushed to the front of her body as she was flung backwards. Oddly enough, she didn't feel the landing. She was vaguely aware that she had sticks poking into, and in some cases sticking out of her and that there was something warm on the side of her head, but the pain seemed numbed and distant.

The cold, rough texture of thick skin and claw, though, she felt with disturbing clarity. She screamed as the three fingered clawed hand wrapped tightly around her ankle. Her fingers grappled furiously for a hold but came up empty each time. Jerky digits snagged fitfully until they found purchase and bled. The jagged edges of splintered wood cut into her fingers brutally, but she dared not to let go. The large shard of wood was lifted into the air as she was, held high above the ground by the beast that had finally caught her. She gripped the wood like a soldier would his last line of defense, and for her, it was. "Slippery wench," it hissed, yellow eyes peering up at her as it held her above its head. "You were hard to catch. I will enj—"

The howl of agony that erupted from its jagged toothed mouth gave her a sickening sort of glee through the haze of fear. _Bastard, _her mind growled even as her body harshly collided with the leaf strewn ground. _Karma's a bitch. _She looked over her shoulder long enough to see the creature writhing where it stood, both of its clawed hands raised to its grotesque face in a futile attempt to stem the flow of blood. "Bitch!" it screamed angrily. "I'll kill you! _I'll kill you!_"

That was all the motivation she needed. Within seconds, she was on her feet and off once again, harsh pants escaping her dry lungs and heaving chest. Her legs shook with the effort to stand but she pushed them to move faster even as she felt her speed begin to slow. She didn't know where she was running, but someone up there must have taken mercy on her because the trees gradually began to thin, and before she knew it she was running alongside a well worn path.

She burst from the tree line with a new sense of hope, the feeling spurring her feet faster as they pounded down the trodden road. Darkness surrounded her on either side, the ominous line of trees promising the daunting unknown. She ignored them with a determination born of fear, her mind singularly focused on the path beneath her feet.

The night was quiet now, eerily so after what she had just experienced. She strained her ears, waiting for the tell-tale crashing that signaled the beast back for revenge, but it never came. In fact it was so quiet that she could hear every nuance that occurred around her. The steady chirp of the crickets, the buzz of insects taking flight, and the scrape of her demolished shoes against small pebbles inlaid in the dirt path all rang in her ears. The odd cacophony urged her to slow her pace, to stop her boisterous steps, and for a moment she thought it would be wise. The thunderous noise she was making was slowly occurring to even her own ears over the rush of blood, and she feared she would attract yet another predator hungry for flesh. But urine colored eyes flashed across her vision, features contorted in rage and hunger and she thoroughly pushed any thoughts of slowing down far back into the recesses of her mind.

She felt her heartbeat flutter in joy when the path leveled into a steep incline, the spectacular vision of a cloister of small wooden structures inlaid cozily into a valley. A sob of relief escaped her lips as small fingers of light touched the mountains surrounding the small dip in the earth, predawn light guiding her footsteps closer and closer to salvation. Heavy feet pounded across narrow pathways, surrounded on all sides by rough squares of watery mud, small stalks of green poking up through the surface. Shouts heralded her approach, alarmed men carrying farming tools—no doubt heading towards the farmland she had just passed—turned to see the commotion. She stumbled drunkenly right up to the proverbial front door of the village before her knees gave out. She collapsed in a heap, legs sprawled awkwardly on either side of her, hands between her knees, and slouching shoulders. She raised her head towards her startled audience, dried blood cresting around her face as the sun rose, shining its light upon various wounds. Chest heaving and face contorted, she gasped out her only explanation.

"M-Monster!"

Having put every ounce of desperation, fear, and confusion into that one word, she fell forward in a dead faint.

For a single, stunningly silent moment, all was still.

"Call the priestess! And the village head! Quickly!"

The order sent forth a flurry of activity, the man having issued it a large, burly man usually looked to in times of crisis. While he was neither the village head, nor holding any particular status for that matter, his presence had an indisputable leader quality to it. And with his bear-like frame and loud, booming voice, giving orders came as naturally as a fish to water.

Brown eyes narrowed in the direction of the collapsed girl and then up the hill to the woods beyond. The demons had become more and more daring as of late, attacks were as frequent as deaths these days. He let out a sigh that seemed to come from his very soul. It really was the last thing they needed on top of all the other riff-raff that was pressing in on all sides. Stepping closer to the girl he knelt and gently eased his hands under her knees and shoulders. His hands scraped against unfamiliar fabric and he eyed her shoes with a curious mix of suspicion and amusement. Making sure her head, which was still bleeding, was nestled firmly into the crook of his arm, he lifted her and cradled her against him. She was surprisingly heavy for her small size, and he eyed her exposed arms and shoulders with interest anew. Scraps and small cuts scattered about her skin like she had tumbled through thorn bushes, a rather disgusting shade of purple was beginning to form on her right cheek, and her left ankle seemed to have been mauled by something.

"Tenzin," a timid voice called behind him. He turned and looked down at his wife, worry shining bright in her eyes. "Tenzin is everything all right?"

_Is everything all right?_

He hated when she asked that. He could never give her the answer that she wanted; needed. Smiling, he nodded. "Everything is fine, Suki, go back to the house." Giving a noise of assent, she turned and hurried home, the line of her shoulders much more relaxed. He watched her go with a heavy heart, but was given little time to think about it before a small crowd began to assemble around him. The girl's clothing was drawing many eyes, as they were so obviously different. For one, she wore some kind of hakema, though the material was much less stiff and oddly bunched around her hips and ankles. Another thing was the top. He couldn't even relate it to anything he'd ever seen in his life before. It seemed to be made out of some sort of seamless fabric, no distinctive end or beginning and was garishly colored. It almost hurt his eyes to look at it for the sheer amounts of intensity. A type of fabric band circled her right wrist and her demolished shoes were made of materials that he could not name.

Obviously, she was a foreigner. And foreigners were never received well in these times. But fortunately for her, while she was drawing many a suspicious gaze, pity was overruling any animosity. United by the common foe of demons, the gathered people saw her as just another victim, no matter her creed. In lieu of her predicament, he would say that the Kami have shown an unusual amount of mercy. Surviving a demon attack is miracle enough, as it is.

"Bring hot water and medicinal herbs," he ordered, shouldering through the crowds. "And prepare yourselves! The demon might come back for more."

Unsettled murmurs swept through the crowd as they scattered to supply weapons. Others rushed to gather the necessary items and he made his way towards the priestesses hut. It was not a long walk. The village itself was more of a small town, mostly made up of farming lands and domesticated animals. A few horses were in their possession, tamed from the wilderness around them, and the town leader was nothing more than a wealthy merchant that happened to be in the right place at the right time. Why he made a point of insisting to be present at any disturbance was beyond Tenzin. The man was a coward to the core.

"Who is she?" Tenzin looked up at the figure approaching him. An aging woman in her mid-forties stared back, long black hair tied back, and the customary garb of a priestess adorning her body. Looking down to the strange girl in his arms, he shook his head. "I do not know. She collapsed by the farmlands." The woman looked in the direction that he had gestured, her eyes narrowing on a thick brush of trees. "Demon?"

"Yes."

"Bring her then. It is possible that she has been poisoned. Either that or cursed."

"Cursed?" The woman nodded her head, ducking under the doorway of her hut. It was a small structure, old but sturdy wooden boards forming a modest square. In the center there lay a pit with burning coals, a pot of stew boiling away. To the right of the fire pit laid a well worn mat upon the wooden floors, and to the left, a collection of medicinal herbs and salves. Leaning near the mat was a bow and a quiver of arrows. "I have been sensing strange energies as of late. The source is emanating from that thicket of trees over yonder." Tenzin nodded his head. She didn't need to elaborate on which thicket of trees she was speaking of. Everything of the evil persuasion seemed to come from there. "The energies seemed to cling to the people of the village, mostly the farmers because they are the closest."

"Wha—priestess why have you not told anyone sooner?!"

"Worry not, at least not yet. The energies disappear entirely within a day. I believe a demon is playing with dark magic in there. I would not be surprised if one of our own was suddenly possessed."

"And you think this girl…" Tenzin looked down the sleeping face in his arms, face drawn and pale. "We don't know where she came from. Look at her clothes. It is impossible to tell how long she has been in the forest, or in other words, in direct contact with the dark energy. We will help her for sure, but we must watch her carefully."

"And if she is cursed?"

The woman looked down upon the girl, just barely a woman. "Drown her."

"Drown?"

"Or burn. It doesn't matter as long as the remains don't linger." Tenzin looked down at the strange girl in his arms, a frown tugging at his lips. Shaking his head, he turned the priestess. "I understand. Chances cannot be taken." The woman nodded her head. "I will pity her if it comes to that fate, but one life is better to be sacrificed then all."

"What's this commotion about?" A voice shouted, disrupting the relative calm of the early morning light. Tenzin and the priestess heaved a sigh in unison just before a boisterous figure burst through the doorway, ripping the straw mat from its holdings. It fell to the figures feet, but he didn't seem to mind. "Tenzin! Maki! Explain this instant!"

The man that had, in all fairness, blundered in unwelcome was not one of poise. Unlike most of the villagers, he was slightly overweight owing to his considerable diet and tastes, a heavy girth resting at his waist and a fair amount of fat encircling his thick neck. Or perhaps it was the fat that made the neck thick. Either way, most of the villagers would come to a unanimous consensus that the man was a willing victim to both gluttony _and _sloth and only came out of his home to seemingly throw their daily lives into disorder. The only reason he even attained—and kept—his position was because of the trade route he somehow managed to open, sending in regular supplies to their very much out-of-the-way settlement. He was never welcome company, and that fact applied now as well.

"She collapsed at the village boundary," Maki replied coolly, shifting in her kneeling position to prod the embers in the fire pit. Tenzin knew she was doing it more out of desire to prod something other than just the embers with the hot metal rather than out of actual need. It was humorous how a maiden of her purity could have such potential for violence. "She was attacked by a demon." Aged but deft hands settled a pot of water over the embers before turning to pick apart several leaves off one plant or another.

"And?" the man demanded angrily, as if they were keeping information from him. "And that is all," Tenzin interjected. "She hasn't spoken a word other than 'monster' before she fainted."

"Has no one stopped to consider that _she _might be a demon? What if this is a trap?"

"True," Maki intoned. "Your suspicion is warranted. Her appearance is nothing short of alien, however I am inclined to believe that she is nothing but a human, if a little strange."

"And what do you have to base that idiotic assumption?" Tenzin bristled at the insult on Maki's behalf, but the woman herself looked unfazed. "Because, _Kanaye,_" Tenzin inwardly smiled at the use of his first name, knowing that it irked the fat man beyond measure when his name was spoken without any sort of honorific attached. "I am a priestess and am trained to look for such deceptions." The man sputtered angrily as the woman went about her work. Tenzin grinned, and then started as he realized he had yet to put the young woman down. Distinctly uncomfortable with his apparent comfort with holding her, he hastily, but gently, laid her on the mat. His shirt had managed to stem the flow of blood from her head, but there were several other wounds that desperately needed attention. "Priestess," he warned, letting the woman know that her services were in desperate need. She came over immediately, dropping a bundle of leaves and a fistful of brown dust into the steaming pot as she passed.

Kneeling down by the girls head, she tied back the sleeves of her haori and gently set down several items by the mat. Two ceramic jars about the size of his fists put together were set gently down on the wood, cloth lids held in place by ties of leather string. A weaved basket full of leaves followed, a distinct scent wafting up to his noses, but he was unable to pinpoint the smell. Clean bandages followed shortly along with two more containers full of powder. One white, the other brown. Tenzin suddenly found a wooden bucket shoved into his hands and instructed to hold it steady. The priestess took a large bowl and began to carefully spoon water from the boiling pot over the fire into the bucket. "Chill it in the river," Maki told him sternly. "But do not let any river water get into the bucket." Wary to leave the girl alone with Kanaye in the same room for too long, Tenzin hurried off to his duties.

When he returned, the village headman was gone and Maki was removing the strange girl's shirt. He balked at the sight and was nearly out the door when Maki called out to him. "Don't even _think _of leaving me to do this alone," She said dangerously. "She is wounded and I cannot lift her." Sighing in resignation, he reluctantly returned, placing the now chilled water, which had a distinctly herbal fragrance to it, down by the mat and turned to fix the woven rectangle over the doorway once again. Uncomfortable with being in the presence of a woman, unconscious no less, with so much skin exposed, he avoided looking at her entirely. It was inevitable though, because as Maki asked him to lift her torso so she could remove the strange article of clothing, his eyes were drawn downward.

Any unease vanished instantly at the sight of a massive purpling bruise swelling on her midsection. Several twigs were lodged in between her ribs, and it looked as though she had had jagged scrapes of stone cut through her flesh in several places. Pity overwhelmed his embarrassment and he easily assisted in undressing her torso. Fortunately she had another covering underneath, strange as it was.

The rest was a methodical system of wetting a clean rag with the herbal water he had chilled and cleaning away the dirt and debris from her wounds in a sponge bath. After she was sufficiently clean, Maki had him lift the hair from the back of her neck and slide a roll of cloth soaked in cool water underneath it. He watched with a sort of detached awe as Maki's experienced hands mixed the two powders together with water to form a thick paste and slather it on to the various gashes crossing over her sides. She imbedded leaves from the basket into this paste and pressed firmly enough to earn a grunt from their unconscious patient. After adding another layer of paste she wrapped the wounds with strips of bandages and gave the same treatment to her mauled ankle, yanking her strange clothing upwards. Smaller cuts were given similar attention except only with the salves from the two cloth covered jars. Maki smoothed a gel-like substance over the bruise on her face and across the soles of her feet before wrapping those as well. When all was done, the white of the bandages covered most of her exposed skin and small scrapes and bruises were still visible.

Maki sighed. "When she wakes and is well enough, I will take her to bathe." Tenzin nodded his head. "What should I tell the villagers?" Maki eyed the girl intensely. "Despite being in the forest as she had, I sense no dark energy coming from her," Tenzin heaved a sigh of relief. "Tell the villagers that she is safe, stranger things have happened to us."

Tenzin turned scarlet at the insinuation. "It wasn't my fault," he mumbled indignantly. Maki smiled serenely, a playful glint in her eyes. "Of course it wasn't."

Laughing jovially, the bulky man raised himself to his feet and with a friendly wave and a word of thanks, left the hut. Maki watched the mat swish for a moment before it stilled, the thick greenery preventing it the flexibility of other materials. Brown eyes narrowed into a harsh line and drifted slowly to her patient, lips thinning as she studied the girl carefully. She hadn't been lying to Tenzin when she had told him that she was devoid of clinging dark energies.

But she was not without a strange energy nonetheless. What caused a rising sense of discomfit in the priestess was that she knew not what it was. Nothing was what she _knew _and more of what she _thought. _Solid knowledge evaded her grasp, her conclusions formed on half-realistic speculations. All she thought she understood was that whatever energy the woman-child possessed it was powerful. And in an odd sense of sure intuition, she _thought_ she knew that the power was dormant.

Cursed? Unlikely. Possessed? No. But powerful? Yes, but strange. And a strange power was a dangerous power. If at any time this girl showed the potential for something more, or if she proved incapable of controlling whatever was inside of her, Maki wouldn't hesitate to dispose of the threat. She was here to protect her village, and she would do it to the best of her ability, however limited it was. Determination hardening her heart to the innocent currently occupying her place of rest, Maki stood and exited the hut, throwing one last cold look over her shoulder and muttering her promise.

"To harm is to die, witch."

As her footsteps faded to nothing, a very different set of brown eyes opened. Mizuki looked around at her surroundings for the first time, eyes wandering for one strange plant to another before finally landing on the weapons leaning innocently in the corner, not far from where she lay. She eyed the elegant curve of the bow and the quiver full of gleaming arrows thoughtfully. First a monster trying to eat her, and now a priestess convinced she was a witch. Death threats seemed to be common in this place, wherever it was.

She was surprised at her ability to act. Before, if she ever tried to convince her mother that she was too sick to go to school, or try to play possum in order to overhear a conversation, she was caught nine times out of ten. And here she was allowing complete strangers to strip her down and treat her wounds as if she were dead to the world. It seemed as if the kami were giving her gifts since they were so intent on throwing her to the wolves. "'To harm is to die', huh?" she sighed softly, rolling the words around her head. Mizuki didn't think that the woman was aware that she was conscious, as she had been only moments after she fainted. The threat seemed to be something the woman said to herself, as if to solidify her resolve. The witch comment confused her though. Besides the monster chasing her and stumbling into what appeared to be a farming village from the bygone era, nothing about her was strange. It wasn't as if she ran in wearing stilettos. Sweat pants and a highlighter yellow t-shirt didn't exactly scream 'stranger danger!' to the common passerby.

Groaning softly, Mizuki pushed herself into a sitting position. Twisting until her back met the wall, she let out a sigh and looked down at herself. She hurt in places that she never knew existed and her very skin seemed tender and raw. She should consider herself lucky that none of her bones were broken, another gift from the kami apparently. But she sure felt like they had. Her ribs were especially sore, and she thought bitterly that if ever she got the chance she was going to chop that things tail off, give it a herbal massage, fry it, and then feed it to her sisters pet poodle. If it happened to be poisonous, then two birds with one stone. That poodle was evil.

But coming back to the priestess, she supposed all she had to do was not harm anyone. It's not like she had sadistic tendencies for homicide or anything, and because of beautiful twenty-first century discoveries, people were far past the stage of odd superstitions. No harm, no foul. It'll be a walk in the park. As soon as she informs the local police that they have a rather large pest problem, gets her hands on a phone, she'll phone home and be on the next train outta here. _And once __that__ happens, _Mizuki thought darkly. _I'm going to sue that psycho magician. _

She hadn't wanted to get up on that stage as his volunteer in the first place. The fact that he had chosen her even though she hadn't raised her hand should have been the first clue that he was a creep. But _nooo, _he had to pick her and her friend absolutely _had _to shove her out of her seat, and then she had no choice but to go along with it. "'Have you ever wanted to time travel?'", she copied darkly, pitching her voice to match the man's. "'Have you ever wanted to experience a _world _of new adventures?' No thank you, freak."

But she had gone up there and for the sake of the crowd, allowed him to usher her onto the platform that would _'make her disappear'. _ And after much dramatics and unneeded extravaganza, he had pulled a lever that made the floor disappear beneath her feet. She remembered letting out a surprised scream before the blackness engulfed her. She must have hit her head somewhere along the way because the next thing she knew she was waking up in a forest.

Freak must have kidnapped her and then dropped her off in some undeveloped part of the city. She was going to kill him. Suing didn't make the cut _at all. _And what the _hell _was up with that monster? Was he seriously trying to kill her? Because beyond her appreciation for fantastic costumes and all things horror, that was _terrifying. _

Looking down at herself, Mizuki solemnly swore that when she got home, she was going to have a word with the manager of that fair because _obviously _they didn't do background checks on their employees. If they had, she was sure they wouldn't have let a serial killer in a room full of people. But for now, she seemed to be stuck in some kind of feudal era recreation village. Kind of like a wax-less wax museum or something. Still, they should have a phone booth or a diner somewhere around here for the bratty tourists.

Resolve made, she reached for her shirt, wincing when her muscles screamed in protest and with much difficulty pulled it over her head. Decent once more, she attempted to get to her feet, using the wall to push her upwards. Black filled the edges of her vision and her legs wobbled dangerously, but soon the spots cleared and though her legs felt as if animals had been gnawing on her muscles, she stayed standing. The next thing she noticed was her feet. She glanced down at them, sore and uncomfortable beneath the white bandages and imagined boils from the harsh things she put them through. Despite her shoes being of maximum grip, they were meant for flat pavement and bricks, not forest floor or monster skin. She wasn't surprised that they had been demolished, but it kind of sucked because they were expensive and now she didn't have any shoes.

Grimacing at the thought of walking around barefoot, she took her first unsteady steps towards the door. Although sleeping was an appealing notion, she didn't think she could until she had a fair understanding of where she was. She paused abruptly at the…well she supposed it _was _a door. It covered the entryway at least. Eyes narrowing in examination, she admired the realism of the mat. It was made of dried greenery and flexibly sticks, woven together and tied with twain. It looked like something that people really did use in the feudal era, and looking around at the lack of space and personal possessions, she realized how hardcore these people must be. Feeling the foreign texture under her fingers as she pulled the mat aside, she was greeted with the sunshine she knew lay beyond the covering.

The first thing she noticed was the air. It was clean, crystalline really, and crisp. Mizuki wondered just how far up in the mountains she must be to get that combination, thought it wasn't thin to her confusion. Usually going this far up would be accompanied with laborious breathing, injured or no for her. The second thing she noticed was the dirt road, an almost alien experience for her. She was so used to pavement near settlements that she was momentarily surprised. _Wax-less wax, Mizuki. It's a recreation. Duh._

But even as she told herself that, she was stunned over and over by the realism of it all. The thatched roofs of the hut, weighed down with stone and wood looked weathered and worn, the tools used by the people were primitive, and the clothing was stiff and dirty. Children ran around barefoot, the calluses on their feet strong enough that they hardly even noticed when they ran over a rock. The women held straw baskets on their backs, hair tied back, and taking small steps within the confines of their yukata. The men were covered in sweat and dirt from working in the farm and so far, and this she was surprised by, everyone was fit. Well, maybe_ fit_ was the wrong word, _healthy _seemed to fit the bill better. They went around as if heaving heavy loads all day was just a normal occurrence.

Mizuki nearly screamed when she came face to face with a donkey, and then stared in abject awe watching a man herding sheep. She was given odd looks from everyone, but she figured it was because of the way she was dressed. Everyone besides her was in traditional clothing. Steeling herself against the gazes, she stepped away from the hut she had been in, ignoring the slight twinge in her feet in favor of looking at her surroundings. After backing into the road a little more, she was able to see the valley she was in from a different view. Mountains towered around the settlement in regal peaks, snow capped tips reaching towards the heavens. Thick, lush forestry met her eyes at every turn and the sky was such a clear azure blue that she could only stare for a moment. Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply, amazed at how light the air felt filling her lungs. She could get used to this.

"Oh? You're awake." Mizuki turned towards the voice and saw an absolutely bear of a man before her. She recognized his voice to be that of Tenzin, and by its baritone she had thought he would be big, but this was almost ridiculous. Suddenly, she was reminded that thanks to her recently acquired acting skills, he was under the impression that she had no idea who he was. In interest of not being looked upon as a liar, she swallowed and did her best to look confused.

It must have worked because he smiled at her in an understanding way. "You must be confused. My name is Tenzin. I carried you after you collapsed." She nodded her head, turning her body to face him and jamming her hands into her pockets, a habit she had developed shortly after joining parkour. The fingers of her right hand smoothed over the glassy surface of her smart-phone and she made a mental note later to see if it was okay. "I'm—" she paused abruptly, wondering if it was safe to tell this people her real name. After all, it was the closest place that that freak magician had dropped her by. But looking at Tenzin, she figured that if anything happened, then she'd rather have him on her side than not. "I'm Mizuki. Ito, Mizuki."

He looked surprised when she said her last name. In fact, he looked downright shocked. Mizuki was struck for a moment, bewildered as to why her name would cause such an extreme action, but she wasn't given too much time to mull over the idea. Only moments after the initial reaction, Tenzin's face had melted into an amused kind of pity. "I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised, what with everything going on perhaps your appearance wasn't as unexpected as we all seem to think."

Blinking, she watched him bounce the load of wood he had draped over his shoulder, readjusting the strap with a soft grunt, and feeling awkward, she began to play with the ends of her hair. "The priestess that tended to your wounds is off collecting herbs in the forest. I know it may be a peasant's fare, but you're welcome to join me and my wife for the midday meal, Ito-sama."

"Uh—yes! Yes, of course. I'd love to." Tenzin fairly beamed at her. "Well then! Allow me to escort you!" Mizuki nodded her head, waddling up to him due to her tender feet, and taking a quick peak to find that he too was barefoot, they were off. Resisting the urge to shove her hands once more into the confines of her pockets, knowing it could be construed as rude in the presence of a stranger, they padded down the dirt path. "You don't have to call me Ito-sama. Mizuki is fine."

"I insist."

"But I don't…" Their voices faded gently as they walked further and further, leaving the priestess's hut behind. But that was not the only thing that they turned their backs to. Ignorant of four pairs of eyes, they walked blithely onwards, unaware at the awe at which were directed at them, or more specifically, at her.

"Tito, did you hear that?" A childish voice questioned, admiration coloring his tone. Another child nodded his head vigorously. "Of course! Can you believe it?"

"Amazing!" Another cooed gently, her eyes sparkling. "A princess."

"What makes you think she's a princess?" A fourth asked brusquely. The little girl huffed in his direction. "Only princesses are pretty. And she was pretty."

"Yeah, pretty weird looking. Her clothes are strange."

"Stupid!" The first reprimanded. "Her clothes are strange _because _she's a princess. I bet they're made of things better than silk! Look at the colors."

"So pretty!" The girl cooed again. They all looked at the ever dwindling pair in the distance. The second piped up once more, as if his last words would somehow make the unsteady conclusion real. "Besides," he began, poking the fourth child in the ribs. "She has two names. Ito Mizuki-sama."

"We should call her hime-sama!" the first crowed triumphantly. The girl quickly caught onto his enthusiasm. "Let's tell the others!"

And with a pitter of feet that could be related to a small stampede, they were off to tell the news of castaway princess living amongst their midst.

* * *

><p>AN: I'm terrible I know. An update on one story, neglecting others, and posting a new one. Buuuutttt...this one was just kind of sitting on my computer and I couldn't resist temptation any longer. I'm sure some of you are confused, so let me lift the fog a bit.

1. Surnames during the Feudal Era (1185-1600's) of Japan were rare, and having one marked you as part of a clan, or noble as the two terms were practically interchangeable. When Mizuki said her surname, they jumped to the conclusion that she was of high birth. Also, this time frame was during the warring states era so theirs a lot of moving territories and battles. While in the anime they focused more on the fighting of demons part, when Kagome fell into the well there was a lot of political upheaval and skirmishes over power. This was mildly shown when the Thunder Brothers and Sesshomaru were first introduced and they were surrounded by samurais and soldiers. The

2. The story that I'm writing is based off of the idea that things were set into motion long before Kagome ever came through the well. My goal is to answer the unanswered questions. Where did Onigumo come from? Where did the bone eaters well come from? Things like that. Therefore, the beginning of the story is set almost two hundred years before Kagome comes into the picture. Don't worry, I'll have time skips. The gang will most definitely play a huge role in this story. But because I'm doing this, you're going to see a lot of OC's and the like. Trust me, I'll make it as entertaining as possible. I'll try to stay as close to the actual time frame as possible, but hey, when theirs fantasy you tend to stray from reality.

Enjoy!


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